(In the morning, when it was still dawn...)

Each of the guardian apprentices had gotten up and each took a handmade deerskin backpack, in which they carried their things for 5 days of survival in their respective destinations. With everything packed, they headed with a bit of silence to the exit of the temple.

"I'm usually the optimist, but this time, I'm a little nervous..." Ray commented, showing that attitude, "Despite what I said last night, I have never gone alone to unexplored dangerous territory"

"Yes, me too," said Thorr, "I want to be a guardian, but this test... is different from what I imagined: now we will be on our own, what do you think? Edel? Johnny?"

Both dragons looked at each other.

"I would also like this to be different," Johnny answered, "But, I think that... deep down, I need to find myself. It's like I want to know if I'm really good at this."

"I think it's a very important test too... Hum, By the way..." she said, "Look, I made these."

Edel held wrist charms of different colors in her claws.

"It's for luck," she said, handing them to everyone, "This way we'll know that no matter how far away we are, we'll be sure to meet again and be ready to be guardians."

"Thanks Edel, you're fantastic," Jhonny told her, putting his on. This made the young dragon blush.

They realized it was getting late, so they hurried to the starting platform. Apparently, Terrador, Cyril, and Volteer had been waiting for them for just a few minutes. Spyro, Cynder, and Sparxs were there too, but still somewhat sleepy.

"Good morning, apprentices," Volteer greeted them, "I hope you are ready for such an adventure full of challenges, dangers..."

"Volteer, calm down or you will make them sleepy again," Cyril interrupted. Then, he turned to his daughter, "Good luck, daughter, I will be waiting for you."

"Thanks, dad," she replied.

Meanwhile, Spyro, Cynder, and Sparxs were saying goodbye to the others.

"Hey, newbie," the dragonfly said, "Make sure you don't faint, I don't want to have to go through the flames to wake you up."

"Hahaha," laughed Johnny, "Don't worry, Sparx. Okay, guys, we'll see each other soon."

"I guess I'll see you on the white island," said Spyro to Johnny, "We'll try to go there to visit Ignitus when the deadline is up."

"I'll be there too" said Cynder, "I'll be wishing you all luck."

"Thanks, guys," he replied.

After saying goodbye, Terrador told them to get ready: up to a certain point, one kilometer from there, they would fly together once more. After that point, they would separate towards their destined places, hoping to reunite. Before leaving, Terrador gave them his support:

"May the ancestors protect you, apprentices," he said, "and may you return victorious."

After finishing the sentence, the young apprentice dragons took flight and flew straight away from the temple and, almost having passed the agreed distance, they said goodbye:

"Good luck," said Ray.

"Be strong," said Thorr.

"We will always be united," said Edel, showing the amulets.

"Yes, I will count the days until we meet again," Jhonny finished.

When they reached the point, each one separated and Jhonny, taking his mission seriously, could only watch his companions and Edel from behind until they were out of sight. After that, he breathed deeply as he opened the scroll with the assigned map.

"Once past the split point, I must go west, where the land looks like magma red and yellow," he said to himself as he read, "It's like a day at the beach, only without sun, with rocks instead of sand and magma instead of water."

This last sentence was obviously sarcasm, as he wanted to see a glimpse of happiness. Anyway, was there any perfect place for others? A peak where thunder falls constantly, a mountain where landslides occur every now and then, and the coldest mountain in the land of dragons...

"Stop worrying," he said to himself as he flew, "They'll be fine for sure: they are real dragons. I, on the other hand, want to know if I can really be one..."

The trip was very silent, as there was no one else to talk to, so he could only think about his past failures... Ignitus had told him that his true self had finally come to light. But, who was his true self? The dragon or the human? Could he really take the reins of what a hero like Ignitus, Spyro's master and father, protected? It was too much of a burden on his shoulders. First on his list, he had to find his true self... something that even many humans struggle with, can he do it now as a dragon?

The air was beginning to feel stifling... that was an indication of a change in the atmosphere. Looking down he realized the environment was extreme: a black and scorched earth, where stones were seen coming out as if they were red hot, while in other parts there was something white from the embers which gave off vapors of molten rock. Sparks of fire protruded from the ground, especially near the lava rivers... if a human saw it, he would think he was in hell (something that crossed the young dragon's mind for a moment).

Jhonny went down to the ground with extreme care, fearing that his front legs would burn just by touching the hot ground. Great was his shock when he touched them and felt just a slight heat: it was like the sand on a hot day at the beach. Assuming that it was because he was a fire dragon, he walked for a while through that inhospitable land. It didn't look like anyone could live there (except for a dragon), but he had to find a place where he could spend the 5 days he had been assigned. The young apprentice knew that this mission was like camping: he had to find a place to take shelter at night.

As he walked in silence, the bubbling of some lava pools could be heard. One thing was certain: he wanted to find a shelter a little far from them, to avoid unexpected dangers. It was strange to walk on the ashes and hear the crunch of them under his feet.

"I must pass this test" he repeated over and over in his mind. Then, looking ahead, he said to himself: "Hey, that looks like a good place."

In front of him was the rise of a rocky wall almost like a small hill of black coal rocks. In it, there was a hole big enough for an adult dragon. However, upon entering, he was surprised to find that it was indeed for an adult dragon: there was a large straw bed, several stone and clay cases, some plants that looked medicinal, edible mushrooms and torches on the walls, which illuminated the place.

"Who lives here?" Jhonny asked himself, looking around, "The guardians didn't tell me that there was someone living here... or, didn't they mention it? In any case, the owner of this place could return soon, so I'd better find another shelter."

The apprentice left that place, but he had barely walked a few meters when a huge creature appeared in front of him: it was a huge, beastly three-headed dog (the one in the center moved, while the others only looked like shoulders) with large claws and fangs. The creature's body seemed to be protected by a living shell-armor.

One thing was certain: it was not friendly at all, because as soon as it saw the young dragon, it swiped so hard that it cut a piece of the ground. Fortunately, Johnny dodged the attack. Getting ready to counterattack, he launched a blast of fire at his enemy, but the latter launched another flame of fire, swamp green in color. The power of that creature was incredible and Johnny was overwhelmed in the next second.

The dragon received the blow of the flames, which hurt him (despite being a dragon of the fire element). However, he quickly got up when he saw the dog lunging at him and flew around the field, to try to attack him from behind: attacking him from the front seemed impossible. Unfortunately for him, when he had approached what seemed to be a blind spot, one of the heads turned slightly and launched another greenish flame in the direction of his enemy. Again, Johnny was able to dodge it, but when he turned to concentrate on the creature, its six eyes (the main ones plus those of the other heads) glowed and everything around turned to darkness.

The young apprentice could not see anything in such a dark environment; No matter how hard he tried to focus his eyes, he couldn't see the enemy at all. Immediately, he felt a claw strike, and then another and another: the enemy was attacking from the shadows and he couldn't do anything to defend himself. His strength was draining...

Suddenly, something shone in the darkness with the intensity of a powerful flame... it was the sensation. With that power, the darkness dissolved and he could see around. However, he was exhausted: the damage seemed to have been severe. As he fell, he could see the silhouette of an adult fire dragon screaming (it wasn't a voice he knew):

"Get away Cerberus!"

Then, he felt exhausted.